Nursing Made Me Really Sad

I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy that I really, really wanted to breastfeed.  I knew that there were likely going to be some physical difficulties.  So many people told me about the horrors of a bad latch, the pain of engorgement and awfulness of callused and cracked nipples.  Still, I envisioned myself powering through and doing it for my baby.  Fortunately, I didn’t have that many struggles with the aforementioned breastfeeding obstacles, aside from some minute latch problems, it was a relatively easy thing for us.  Power to you moms who do have to deal with all those things!  What I did struggle with, that no one told me about was the, albeit brief but, immense sadness that came along with my let down. 

I had prepared to nurse my baby while crying, just in my prep I was crying from physical pain.  I was so blindsided by the emotional sadness that came with it.  Now, don’t get me wrong, for me it wasn’t an extended amount of sadness, just a few minutes, but it was a crushing, shocking sadness that for those minutes, ruined me.

Throughout my pregnancy, I was convinced I would have postpartum depression.  Every, single time I nursed I thought to myself, “This is it.  This is the PPD setting in.”  I really wish someone had told me that this was totally normal!  Evidently, there is a condition called Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex that does just that.    Just before the milk let-down, moms experiencing this have negative emotions for just a few minutes.  It seems that it has to do with a decrease in dopamine which happens right before the let-down (KellyMom.com, 2012)

So there you go!  What I was dealing with was just a part of the emotional rollercoaster that is motherhood.  For me, it resolved itself to happen very rarely in about 8 weeks.  By that time, I had done some research and figured it out, but it sure would have been nice if someone had just been like, “Yeah having a baby is physically hard.  And nursing is physically hard, too. You know what else, though?  It’s really emotionally hard, too, especially in the beginning.  You are going to be fine.  You’re going to do a great job, but you also might be sad or angry or anxious and that’s ok.” 

Resources:

Depression or other negative emotions upon milk let-down (D-MER) • KellyMom.com. (2012). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/d-mer/

Chicken Fajita Skillet

I got home tonight and DID NOT want to cook.  Like I just couldn’t make myself do it, but we are working really hard on keeping our eating out expenses under control.  I had to just mom-up and do it, and I am SO glad that I did.  I made this delicious little meal that was so yummy, quick and well-balanced, if I do say so myself.

Ingredients:

·         3-4 chicken breast (I actually used 2 breasts and 2 thighs)
·         1 cup sliced peppers (red, yellow and orange)
·         ½ onion, sliced
·         Fajita seasoning 
·         1 Tbsp minced garlic
·         ¼ cup sour cream
·         1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Salt and pepper the chicken to taste.  Place on a roasting rack and cook until done.  I used frozen chicken, so I cooked them at 400 for about 35 minutes.  While the chicken cooks, slice your peppers and onions.  If you’re making your own fajita seasoning do that, too.  Once the chicken is done, allow it to cook for about 10 minutes, then cube.
In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil and add chicken, peppers, onions, garlic and fajita seasoning.  Sauté until veggies are desired tenderness, about 15 minutes.  If you notice things getting a little dry, add a little water to loosen those yummy bits up.  At the last minute, stir in the sour cream.
Serve it up!

Serving suggestions:

I thought it was a perfectly delicious dish on its own.  My husband, likes everything in a taco shell, so he ate his like a taco.  I think it would go nicely with some cilantro rice or topped with avocado or topped with cheese.

Make it freezer friendly!  This one is pretty easy to make freezer friendly.  Simply cube your (raw) chicken.  Throw the first 5 indgredients into a freezer bag.  When you're ready to serve it, thaw overnight in fridge.  Dump it into a skillet and cook until the chicken is done.  Add the sour cream at the last minute.

Welcome to  Momma Mode!  This is my rant into the www about being a new mom.  No judgement, no valid (and certainly no professional) advice, just my thoughts on motherhood and how I am surviving (I think I'm surviving).

My name is Mandy, I am the new mom to my sweet, happy baby boy.  I decided to start Momma Mode as a means to motivate me to stay in the zone and get it done.  By "it" I mean keep my baby alive and happy, pay the bills, feed my family and my soul through occasional bursts of craftiness.